


Honey Sweet

by cheshireree (orphan_account)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AUs, Developing Friendships, F/M, Fluff, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, Hunk knows how to wield a knife, The other paladins - Freeform, and not just for cooking, hair cutting, maybe some hints or features of other pairings, more tags to come
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2019-06-26 00:31:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15652095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/cheshireree
Summary: Stress has turned Princess Allura’s normally beautiful hair into a knotted mess. Her stress has lead to some terrible outcomes. But luckily Hunk’s there to help.Or, Keith’s not the only one who knows how to use a knife. It’s just that Hunk uses his for different purposes.





	Honey Sweet

 

If there was one thing Hunk really liked about Princess Allura, it was her hair. That and her incredible alien strength. But that was a thought for another day, and maybe a more private setting.

 

Hunk liked watching her silver curls falling down her back, long and beautiful like a river of pearls. Each curl a tiny rivulet all its own, almost like a fingerprint. The way she casually ran her fingers through the length, and the way it framed her pretty face always had Hunk a little sweaty and goofy, and he could definitely see why Lance and the whole team, and maybe even most of the universe, was so in love with her.

 

He’d only ever seen her in all of two hairstyles and briefly wondered if maybe she’d never learned any others.

 

It didn’t seem like the Princess had any siblings. No one to have sleepovers with and do each other’s hair. Hunk’s hair may not be long, but he had sisters, and nieces and nephews, and at one time, even Lance’s hair had been long enough, curling so cutely in Hunk’s memories, and capable of the cutest little ponytails. Eventually, when it came time to join the Garrison, Lance had had Hunk shear it off, and kept it short since then.

 

Now, though, the Princess’ hair wasn’t looking so good. For the first time since he’d met, Allura’s hair was a knotty, matted mess. She looked tired and sluggish, despite the warm smile she still met the team with. But her hair was looking frizzy and unkept. Keith had commented as much, quietly under his breath to the rest of them when she’s left the breakfast table.

 

Sometimes, Hunk would pass by and see her fighting with her mass of curls, looking on the verge of tears and ultimately giving up. Hunk knew stress when he saw it. He just dealt with it differently. Baking up a storm tended to be his go-to strategy, but somehow Hunk doubted the Princess had ever had to cook or bake in her life; whatever time she had spent of it out of cryosleep. Hunk glanced into the living room, spotting Shiro looking almost as dull as Allura seemed chaotic.

 

Making up his mind, he went to find Lance.

 

It took about twenty minutes all together, but between the two of them, gathering items between them, they set off towards their team leaders with a mission. Hunk dropped Lance off at the living room, watching him loudly announce himself and maybe startle Shiro to fall straight off the couch. Lance dumped the face care products down on the couch with flourish, and tell Shiro that he was joining him for some spa time and wouldn’t take no for an answer. Luckily, Shiro looked too tired to argue, and let Lance cow him back on the couch. Looking up over Shiro’s shoulder, Lance winked and waved him off.

 

Finding the Princess’ room was a bit of a task. Hunk had never been there, except the one time the whole team had gone to check on her when she’d become sick. It took a few wrong turns, but eventually he summoned the mice through the vent system and got them to take him to her door. There was nothing particularly special about her room door. It looked just like all the others they had. Only to the side there was a little scrawl of what seemed to be Allura’s name in Altean. The mice scurried up Hunk’s leg, and watched Hunk knock on her door.

 

“Hey, Princess! It’s me, Hunk. Are you in there?” Hunk called.

 

Something overturned inside the room, then something like a string of foreign curses greeted Hunk’s ear. The mice chittered quietly amongst themselves, clinging to Hunk’s cheeks as Allura’s door peeped open just a bit. Hunk tilted his head and grinned at her.

 

“Hunk,” Allura quietly said in way of greeting.

 

“Hey there, Princess. How ya doing?”

 

He knew how she was doing, truthfully. From what little he could see of her face, he could see the bags under her eyes, the dry patch on the corner of her jaw, and the way her hair was getting more tangled by the minute. He felt for her, he really did. He shuffled closer to the door.

 

She bit her lip. “I am fine. Was there anything you needed? I was unaware of any training scheduled for today.”

 

Hunk held up the bag of things he’d brought with him. She looked at it warily.

 

“Mind if I come in for a bit? I thought we could spend some time together,” Hunk said.

 

Allura furrowed her brows, unsure of what to make of that. She bit her lip, her usual pleasant diplomacy stalling. The mice squeaked at her, waving their paws around and saying something Hunk couldn’t understand. A tick or two passed before Allura sighed and allowed the door to open more. With a wave, Allura allowed Hunk in.

 

Hunk didn’t know what a Princess’ room looked like, but he didn’t think this was what it was supposed to look like. Not unlike her hair, Allura’s room was a mess. He always fashioned her to be a clean kind of girl, a place for everything, and orderly to boot. Inside, though, clothes, objects, cushions, and more were everywhere. Sheets and lamps overturned on the floor, and the inside dimly lit by glowing blue lights on the sides of the walls. Allura navigated the mess well enough, coming to sit down on her bed. The mess scurried to join her.

 

“You wanted to….spend time together?” Allura slowly asked.

 

Hunk felt around for the light switch. When it clicked on, Allura winced. Hunk looked around at the mess, unable to not let a faint “Oh” escape him. Allura wrung her hands in her night dress, nervous. The fact that she had not changed for the day didn’t escape Hunk’s eye. She was worse off than he thought.

 

Hunk grinned at her, hoping his good mood would help ease her a little. “That’s right. You kind of looked like you could use a spa day.”

 

“Spa day?” Allura repeated. “Like - what Lance does?”

 

“Yep! He’s busy de-stressing Shiro as we speak. So, I figure I would come and ask you.” Hunk frowned, resting his hands on his hips. “You haven’t been looking too good lately. Uh, no offense.”

 

Allura twisted a strand of hair, looking like she wanted to yank it out. “I haven’t felt very good either,” She admitted. “I’m not sure what’s wrong with me.”

 

Hunk nodded. “Stress, probably. Maybe something more. I’m no psychologist -”

 

“A what?”

 

“- But I think I can at least help you out a little otherwise. You’ll have to go to Coran for the other stuff.”

 

Allura made an uncomfortable noise. “I’m...afraid to bring it up with him.”

 

“That’s okay. It happens. But you know he won’t ever judge you. Just, consider it, you know? I’ll walk with you if you want when we’re done. How ‘bout it?”

 

Allura looked up at him, that tired quietness about her settling between them. She looked at the mess of her room, at her mice, and then finally back to Hunk. With a quiet exhale, the Princess nodded. Hunk clapped once, startling Princess and mice, and pried open his bag.

 

“Perfect! I know just where we can start!”

 

-

 

Getting Allura to let him wash her hair was an ordeal. As much as it was pissing her off to have it so matted and dirty, she seemed uncomfortable to admit it. Probably her pride, Hunk thought. Being a Princess probably came with a lot of pride. Asking for help sometimes felt like admitting defeat.

“Okay, tell you what. Why don’t you just let me take care of it?” Hunk suggested. “You’re in good hands I swear. I have sisters!”

 

Allura looked at him in that wary way again, her eyes a thousand miles away. “I’m not sure this is something either of us can fix.”

 

“I’m a mechanic, Princess. Fixing things is my thing. Now, just lay back and let me get to work. I’ve got you.” Hunk gave her a thumbs up.

 

Allura hesitantly laid back, bottom lip tucked under her front teeth. She laid her hands together over her stomach and waited. She watched Hunk as best as she could laying out the bottles of shampoo and conditioner Lance had given him, the scissors he’d found, and a couple other miscellaneous things. Hunk turned on the water to fill the sink, assuring Allura when she flinched. When the water was ready, warm and now smelling like rosemary, Hunk took the mass of Allura’s hair in hand and laid it down into the water.

 

The Princess reclined stiffly, hands flying from her stomach to the arms of the chair. Her knuckles turned white, the chair creaking under her strength. Hunk put a hand over her’s.

 

“It’s okay. Just breathe, it’ll be okay. You can trust me, you know that, right?” Hunk murmured.

 

Slowly, the tension bled from her, though she still looked a little stiff and unsure. He didn’t take it to heart. He turned back to the sink. Squirting the shampoo into his hands, Hunk started on Allura’s scalp. He moved his fingers through her hair, taking not of the sharp inhale she gave, and gently rubbed circles into her head as he slowly worked his way down her hair. The lower he got, the more she seemed to settle, eyes fluttering. Hunk grinned. He made his way back up again, taking time to try and undo any simple knots he came across, massaging into her scalp again causing her to sigh. With care, he rinsed her hair out, then moved to add in the conditioner.

 

“I”m gonna have to try and comb it, that okay?” Hunk asked.

 

She tensed again, just a bit, probably thinking of the pain that would come. He couldn’t blame her.

 

“If you must,” She muttered. “Be gentle?”

 

“You can count on me,” Hunk soothed.

 

He ran the comb through her hair, taking care with each knot and tangle, moving on if he couldn’t get one to budge. If she tensed too much, he backed off, let her breathe and adjust, before starting again. It was time-consuming, and even the mice had ended up drifting off despite the tug and pull Hunk and Allura were going through. The balls of hair on the ground steadily grew, but there was still so much more of it messed up. He might have to tackle this another way.

 

“Hey, try not to freak out, but...when’s the last time you had a hair cut?” Hunk asked.

 

Allura blinked up at him. “Not since childhood. I used to be an active child, always in trouble. Mother says I get it from father. They kept my hair short since I used to come back with twigs and leaves and mud in my hair.”

 

Hunk couldn’t help his laugh. It made Allura pause, the first real smile in days he’d seen on her face, as she watched him. Her eyes crinkled, mirth full in her gaze.

 

“Ohhh man. You were a troublemaker, huh? You and Lance would have been _dangerous_ together as kids.”

 

He took a towel and wrapped her hair in it. He beckoned for her to hold it as he went back to his inventory. He pocketed the scissors and the leave in conditioner. He se the towel down around her hair and watched her hair, looking a little more lively now, tumble down her back.

 

“Oh? What about you?” Allura asked.

 

“I was a little quieter than him. But if he ever wanted to go on an adventure, I was always right there with him. We’re like brothers, you know? We’ll follow each other anywhere.”

 

“You two are close. I like it,” Allura hummed.

 

“You an only child then?”

 

“I’m afraid so.” Allura looked away, a wry and sad smile on her face. “My mother died when I was a child. Father never took another for a queen. There was always talk between them for more children. Father loved the idea of a big family. But it...simply never came to pass.”

 

“Ah.” Hunk sniffled. “I’m sorry. If it’s any consolation, me and Lance will gladly share our family with you. My nieces would scream to know I’ve met a real life Princess.”

 

Allura giggled. “When this is over, please introduce me. I always wanted to tea party with younger sisters. I am excited to experience it.”

 

“Ohh you will. I make some mean tea party cakes! You’ll have the best time, I promise,” Hunk said.

 

He cleared his throat. “Now then. I don’t think I’ll be able to salvage your hair. It’s kind of just...to much. I really want to just cut it for you, let it grow back better. That okay?”

“There is...truly no other way?” Allura uneasily asked.

 

Hunk shook his head. “Fraid not. But you’re in good hands, you know? Keith’s not the only one who knows how to use a knife. My aunt’s a hairdresser and she and Lance’s mom work together in the same salon. I picked up a few things besides just cooking. I’ll make you super cute, I swear.”

 

Allura shyly looked up at him, eyeing the scissors in his pocket. “You can do that?”

 

Hunk blinked, grinning reassuringly. He rocked on his feet, getting a little shy himself.

 

“Yep. I’ve kind of been wanting to play with your hair for some time. I’ve got like a ton of hairstyles I always thought you’d look good in. That goes for short hair, too. You trust me?”

 

“Absolutely,” Allura said without hesitation.

 

Hunk grinned and set to work.

 

-

 

At times, Hunk paused, when he sensed maybe Allura was holding her breath too long. When that happened, he took the scissors away, laid a hand to her shoulder and felt the way she exhaled and sagged, at peace again. Then, she would lay a hand over his, her long, dark fingers splaying over his. It made Hunk squirm inside, wondering what it would be like to kiss her knuckle, like those movies his nieces liked to watch. He shoved those thoughts to the side and went back at it.

 

Most of her hair had had to go. Hunk only ever saw the nape of the Princess’s neck when he tied it up into a bun. With most of her hair gone, the tips of her ends brushed along the first knob of her spine. The ends curled, an echo of its long rivulets, showing off the little pink marking hiding along the nape of her neck. He almost wanted to kiss it.

 

He worked on giving her new bangs, too. He cut it to shift over more to one side, a beautiful curl that at time seemed to cover one eye, made her look coy and more gorgeous, and heart-stoppingly irresistible. If Allura so much as asked Hunk to eat his fist, he just might have. The sharp fringes to the side, Hunk cut back, letting them curl only just slightly along her cheeks.

 

When he stepped back, Hunk had to hold his breath before he lost it all together. God, she was so gorgeous.

 

Allura furrowed her brow.

 

“Is everything okay?” She asked nervously.

 

Hunk nodded rapidly. He didn’t trust his voice right away, swallowing heavily until his tongue could work again.

 

“It’s perfect,” He squeaked. “You look perfect. I - I always figured short hair suit you, but _wow_.”

 

Her cheeks burned under a blush, fighting to match the one rising on Hunk’s own face. They stared at each other for a tick before looking away, flustered and wordless. Hunk’s hands slipped on the counter, sweaty. Shakily, he reached for a hand mirror and gave it to her.

 

“What do you think?” Hunk inquired.

 

Allura blinked, plump lips forming into an “O” as she touched the ends of her hair. She raised the mirror, turning her head side to side and eyes roving over her image. The mice settled on her shoulders, awake now, and chittering about her new look. At first they were sad, upset that the warm curls she had would not be there for them to sleep in anymore. Then, they scurried around her, rubbing against her cheeks and squealing happily at what they saw. Allura laughed, agreeing with them about something or other. The longer she looked, the larger the smile appearing on her face seemed to grow. Hunk wasn’t sure how long she stared at herself, but when she finally put the mirror down, no sun in any universe could compare to her.

 

“Hunk,” Allura started, voice a little wet. “It is - It is so - I love it. _Thank you._ ”

 

She rose quickly, nearly knocking the mice from their perch as she pulled Hunk into a tight hug, his toes barely touching the ground. She buried her face into his chest, and nuzzled. “You are amazing,” She said, muffled against him. Hesitantly, Hunk rested his hand to the back of her head, feeling the soft bundle of her hair. He hooked his arms around her, careful not to crush the mice.

 

“Any time,” Hunk murmured.

 

They didn’t pull apart for some time, the warmth of the Princess’ body bleeding into Hunk’s, her strength making him giddy. Before she pulled away, she spun him, laughing unbidden and dropping him gently into a lazily, silly little dance. They twirled in her bathroom, making their way out into the mess of her bedroom. The mice hopped off at some point, curling in the jewellry box and out of harm’s way. They tripped, at times, over fallen objects, only laughing that much harder. It ended when they both crashed into the bed. Allura stretched, arms raised high, squirming around on the bed. She ran her fingers through her short-hair. She sighed. Allura turned on her side and beamed at Hunk.

 

“Is there more to this ‘spa day’?” Allura asked. “I remember Lance mentioning face masks.”

 

Hunk grinned. “Weeeelll. If we leave now, we might just be able to swipe some from Lance before he finishes cleaning up Shiro’s undercut. He’s finally gonna try and get Shiro to sweep his bangs back from out of his face.” He looked smug. “It was _my_ idea.”

 

Hunk booped Allura on her nose, wiggling his eyebrows at her pout. “And we can totally show off your new hairdo. Five GAC says Coran faints.”

 

Allura smiled, mischievous and wild. “Five says he goes on a rant _then_ faints.”

 

“Oh, you’re on!”

 

They scrambled out of the bed and into the hallway. Halfway to the living room, Allura pulled Hunk to a stop. He turned to her, a question ready. She tugged his face down, framing his cheeks with her soft finger and placing a kiss to the corner of his mouth. Shyly, she thanked him again and hurried past him. She shot a coy look over her shoulder before Hunk was racing to catch up to her.

 

God, he loved their Princess.


End file.
